Marine musicians share passion for jazz with Bremen students
BY MARI GRIGALIUNAS Correspondent January 17, 2012 10:38PM
Gunnery Sgt. Jason Knuckles plays his saxophone with other members of the U.S. Marines All-Star Band during a clinic with the Bremen Jazz Band at Bremen High School in Midlothian, Illinois, Tuesday, January, 17, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 19, 2012 8:15AM
The image of disciplined, seasoned military members going through a drill in no-nonsense fashion stood in stark contrast to what Bremen High School students witnessed Tuesday morning from a visiting Marine Corps unit.
Twenty uniformed Marine musicians jammed out, nodding their heads and tapping their feet for hundreds of students, as the Marine Corps All Star Jazz Band stopped by the school in Midlothian to kick off its eight-stop tour around the Midwest.
“We came together last Friday,” said Chief Warrant Officer Jim Ford, the band’s director.
While the band members had only two days of rehearsal under their belts, students were amazed by their skills. A few of the musicians worked with the Bremen jazz band before the performance, and sight-read a piece of music they had never practiced.
“They all played perfectly in synch and together,” said Bremen senior Deanna Young, who plays alto saxophone in the school’s jazz band.
The All Star Jazz Band, only four years old, is a collection of the best Marine musicians from the 10 fleet Marine Corps bands throughout the country. Auditions take place in November or December, and the band tours a different region each year, performing at high schools, universities and jazz festivals.
“Marine Corps music has taken me around the world,” said Ford, whose service has included six years in Japan.
Marine musicians go through 11 months of initial training, including boot camp, combat training and six months at the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Va. Although they play in the bands while on active duty, they also face deployments like other Marines.
Bremen music director Ben Salgado believes experiences like the clinic give students a sense of real-world opportunities to continue playing music.
“A lot of the kids, they play in band ... and after graduation, they’re like, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do?’ and they throw (their instrument) in their closet,” said Salgado, who has been teaching music at Bremen for nearly eight years. “This gives those kids a very specific thing to look at.”
Staff Sgt. Mark Pellon, 26, of Miami, an alto saxophonist, knows exactly how valuable the clinics and Marine Corps band performances are.
“If it weren’t for something like this happening to me, I wouldn’t have even joined the military, and this is one of the best things that ever happened to me,” Pellon said.
He remembers being one of those band students with no idea about the opportunities to continue playing music.
“A Marine saxophone quartet came to my high school,” Pellon said. “I didn’t even know the military had music.”
All of a sudden, Pellon had an alternative to college, which he wasn’t looking forward to at that time. Eight years later, he attends college online while on active duty.
“Exposing them to this today is going to be an education in itself,” Bremen Assistant Principal Joe Simone said.
Bremen senior Brian Waddell plays trumpet in the jazz band, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He plans to attend college but still looks up to the Marine Corps musicians.
“I thought it was a great experience, like once-in-a-lifetime, because they are such accomplished musicians, and to have their input is very valuable,” he said.
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